Project aims to improve oak forests

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Illinois USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service will offer Joint Chiefs’ Landscape Restoration Partnership funding for portions of four counties in southern Illinois.

Illinois NRCS has partnered with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service-Shawnee National Forest to help producers address resource concerns such as increasing terrestrial habitat and preventing plant degradation on private lands near high-priority stewardship clusters in southern Illinois.

Landowners can apply for assistance through NRCS’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which provides funds to implement practices such as forest stand improvement, brush management, prescribed burning and forest management plans.

The project focus is to improve oak forests in the following four Illinois counties: Alexander, Jackson, Massac and Pope.

NRCS financial assistance will be available to Illinois producers who have land in these counties.

While applications are accepted throughout the year, interested producers should submit a signed application, form NRCS-CPA-1200, by June 9 to the local NRCS field office, or through the Farmers.gov website.

A blank NRCS-CPA-1200 application form may be obtained from the local office or the Illinois NRCS website.

Producers wishing to use Farmers.gov can sign in or create an account by clicking on “sign up” in the upper-right portion of the website.

To check eligibility to participate in the program, producers should contact their local NRCS field office or visit the Illinois NRCS website at www.nrcs.usda.gov/il.